"Hours after becoming the first House speaker in history to be ousted from the job, California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday night he would not try to retake the gavel."
How did the Lahaina wildfire spark an AI-driven influence campaign out of China? Perhaps a technological leap. Or perhaps, the new WatchDog Opinion column suggests, a natural evolution of a decades-old disinformation playbook with roots in a war against science and culminating in climate denial. A look at the disturbing prospects and a plea for journalists not to sidestep the phenomenon but to cover it.
"It’s the most wonderful time of the year — Fat Bear Week 2023 is here. The annual competition, hosted by the Katmai National Park and Preserve, pits brown bears against each other in a virtual bracket as they stock up for hibernation."
"Highway travel centers are adding amenities like restaurants and dog parks to accommodate the expanded dwell time of electric vehicle owners."
"There’s a stretch of Kim Shade’s ranch in the North Dakota Badlands where he used to look for a peculiar long-billed bird from the seat of his saddle. Now, all he sees there is a road leading to an oil rig."
"A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the federal government to enact emergency rules to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with large ships. The groups filed their petition with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Sept. 28 in an effort to protect the North Atlantic right whale."
"Friday’s deluge was yet another reminder that little has been done to make basement dwellings safer, and that the risk for residents is only increasing."
"The Biden administration has finalized national efficiency rules for residential gas furnaces affecting about a third of all US homes, updating a 36-year-old standard that effectively phases out older furnace models."
"Hours before devastating fires scorched the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Kyle Ellison labored to save his rental house in Kula, a rural mountain town 24 miles away, from a different blaze."
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